Caffeinated Clint
The Rock ripped off his whole act from Arnold Schwarzenegger and we still find him entertaining, so really, there was nothing wrong with laughing at Steve Vizard’s witty jokes, even if most of his gags were David Letterman’s.
Steve Vizard, Jennifer Keyte, Robin Williams, Spike Milligan, Kylie Minogue, Spinal Tap, Eric Bana, Tom Jones, Shirley Maclaine, Oliver Reed, Julian Clary, Rex Mossop, Sam Neill, Russell Crowe
The Rock ripped off his whole act from Arnold Schwarzenegger and we still find him entertaining, so really, there was nothing wrong with laughing at Steve Vizard’s witty jokes, even if most of his gags were David Letterman’s.
”Tonight Live with Steve Vizard” came along at a time when Australian TV was in dire need of some Variety – Bert and Don had retired to the trenches (or rather, a sports series and a morning show, respectively); Frankie J.Holden hadn’t yet been asked to stop singing and start hosting (”IMT”) and Rove McManus hadn’t even popped his televisual cherry on community television. Quite simply, we needed a good laugh… and something to watch before bed. And this was perfect. Quintessential late-night funnies for the 90s.
An hour of spontaneous entertainment – something far less rehearsed and PC than say, ”Hey, Hey It’s Saturday” or current TV Variety show, ”Rove” – ”Tonight Live” was put together in less than two months with Channel 7’s golden-boy at the time, Steve Vizard, then on sketch comedy hit ”Fast Forward”, asked to host. The show would turn him into an overnight sensation.
”Tonight Live Revisited”, hosted by Georgie Parker, briefly – and I say briefly because it seems short (or maybe that’s just because I was enjoying it) and you just know there were more golden moments from the show than the ten or eleven clips that are screened here – retraces some of the show’s most memorable moments – like when Agro cracked onto newsreader Jennifer Keyte; Sam Neill talked about bonking Meryl Streep and Russell Crowe did his best Julian Clary (who also appears on the show – in a rip-snorting showdown with a homophobic guest) impersonation.
OK, so the show had its highs and lows, and obviously we weren’t to see any of the low’s here, but for the most part, it was an entertaining and successful addition to the catalogue of Australian TV comedy gems. We need something like it again – just not with Rove hosting. Please.
Extras include some bonus segments and extended interview segments.
Hopefully a second volume is on the way.
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clint Morris
